2011 Australian Grand Prix

Sauber say they will not appeal their exclusion from the Australian Grand Prix.

However the team continued to insist they did not gain an advantage from running a rear wing element that did not comply with the regulations.

Technical director James Key blamed “an error in the checking process” for their exclusion from seventh and eighth places in Sunday’s race.

The team issued the following statement:

After examining all the facts, the Sauber F1 Team has decided not to appeal against the verdict of the stewards following the Australian Grand Prix last Sunday. The two drivers Sergio Perez and Kamui Kobayashi had crossed the finish line in Melbourne in seventh and eighth places respectively, but were subsequently excluded from the results. The post-race scrutineering check by the race stewards revealed that a radius on the upper rear wing element on Perez?óÔé¼Ôäós and Kobayashi?óÔé¼Ôäós cars contravened the regulations by a few millimetres.

?óÔé¼?ôIt did not bring us any performance advantage, but the fact is that it was a deviation from the regulations. We take note of the stewards?óÔé¼Ôäó decision,?óÔé¼?Ø said James Key, the team?óÔé¼Ôäós Technical Director.

In the meantime, the Sauber F1 Team has carried out a comprehensive internal investigation. ?óÔé¼?ôWe have since found that there was an error in the checking process for the relevant dimension on this component. We have already put measures in place to ensure that nothing of this kind occurs again in the future,?óÔé¼?Ø added Key.

The decision came as a particular blow to the two drivers Sergio Perez and Kamui Kobayashi. Team Principal Peter Sauber commented: ?óÔé¼?ôBoth Sergio and Kamui put in a tremendous performance on Sunday. They gained no advantage from the inaccurate rear wing. They both fought hard to secure their finishing places and had really earned their points. Notwithstanding the disappointment, we have shown that we have a fast car and two highly talented drivers. It makes me optimistic for this season.”

80 comments on Sauber will not appeal Australia disqualification

This makes sense to me. Sauber was going to spend money and valuable time to fight something they’ll probably lose to anyway. It seems better to drop it, focus on the next race and fight even harder next time.

Kob and Perez are part of the team, they should be blaming nobody. Obviously more people have a bigger responsibility than others in certain areas, but it goes against the ethic if you sit there pointing fingers.

Gutted! Would have been nice to see Perez and Kobayashi rewarded for their performances. If anything though, this will motivate everyone in the team to do it again next race and get those points back on the board!

That’s a big shame. An appeal was always going to fail but I really hoped that it wouldn’t. Let’s hope in the annals of F1 history there is a footnote reminding us of what Sauber really achieved this weekend.

You see how both the plates in the middle curve upward? The top end of the top one of the two was deemed to curve upward too steeply in relation to its bottom end. Ie. the radius is too small, meaning the ends are coming towards eachother too quickly.

That’s my non-engineering explanation of it anyway. I’m sure an engineer will come in any moment now and rip it to shreds ;)

Yes but, in all liklihood also more drag – in aircraft engineering you are looking for a high lift/drag ratio (lots of lift for very little drag – drag just costs energy). In F1 you want a high downforce/drag ratio (I find aircraft easier to picture, hence the odd description!).

Intrigued by this as there would be a performance advantage (more downforce, so more grip) but at the cost of speed…I can’t help but think that proving whether it was beneficial or not would take so long and be so complex that we’d be at Abu Dhabi before we got a definitive answer!!

Sauber have done the right thing – they were outside the regs, so just move on and learn. Gutted for them and hope that Perez can repeat these heroics, but I think the stewards/scrutineers were right (for once!!)

Yeah, that’s the bit that confuses me actually. Not being an engineer or aerodynamicist, I struggle to see how the size of the radius of that part of the rear wing ties into a possible F-duct like device. Someone else will have to chime in on that.

That GIF is very tricky though. The RB wing doesn’t flex quite *that* much. The perspective on the Mclaren is from a way lower point of view. Just lining up the cars, wings, airbox, does not fix that. Just look at the boarding and lines in the background.

This is slightly false data though, as it is common knowledge that the McLaren is one of the stiffest cars on the entire grid. Also, the mere fact that the wing flexs more than another team’s doesn’t make it illegal, it makes it clever.

Well I wouldn’t hold your breath about the ‘rule breaking’ RBR wing being banned any time soon. It is a joke that they’ve been allowed to use it for 9 months. But if the rules not going to be enforced properly what would you do if you were RBR?
Everyone knows it passes the static test but breaks the rules on track, the test is flawed so they get away with it.

All the justification of “we pass the tests” is nonsense. Maybe I’m looking too hard but the fact that McLaren stood to gain most from their banning last year is a bit convenient when we’re talking about the FIA. Now they would look silly clamping down on it so they won’t (a repeat of the mass damper farce)?

Funny how TV technology is good enough to detect whether someone retained a gained advantage (yes, I’m on that again) and sensors aren’t, but TV footage is inferior to stationary load tests that don’t accurately reflect racing conditions.

My view is that all the teams are in the same boat so why all the fuss. The fact that it’s based on passing the test has been clearly established, the other teams are complaining not because of any high moral values, but because they clearly can’t achieve as good results.

All wings will flex a certain amount under enough load, the only way to put a limit is to specify a test, this has been done (and then strengthened) and Red Bull/Newey continue to have the best solution. This is what F1 is about, building the best car within the rules.

The mass damper farce really annoyed me, Renault came up with a great solution and it was ridiculous to suggest it was a movable aerodynamic device – that was another case of the other teams complaining because they hadn’t thought of it and didn’t have as good a solution as Renault. I think the FIA is playing it right on this one.

They did the right thing. There is no way the FIA will overtunr such a verdict after many days. Even if it was found out their cars complied. Just like how you can’t appeal a drive through.

Their car is fast and if they can hold on to good relaliability they can achieve similar results. Just that with other teams sorting out their problems it wiil be just that slightly more difficult.
But they will surely do well this season.

Good call all at Sauber, there was no argument simply, caught out. But they must draw optimism from Melbourne, they were genuinly quick, showed good race pace and firm reliability. Maybe having a flutter on Sauber scoring some good points this season.

Millimeters. I have some choice words for the officials about that that I can’t repeat on here since Keith tries to keep it family friendly. No warning, no place docking, just straight up exclusion. Unbelievable.

I agree with Patrick. And I don’t think it’s all down to “rooting for the small guy”-syndrome.

I’ve supported Ferrari since I found out about the F40 (the road car. Heh, Enzo would spin in his grave if he knew people would come to Ferrari the wrong way around) and I thought they should have been handed a penalty of some sort at least for their moving floor. Which, now that I mention it, reminds me of a certain specific other bit of aerodynamic bodywork which has clearly been designed to not move under the tests but does move under the stresses experienced at speed…

Initially I was really annoyed about this and was just about to get on with bashing the FIA. However, if the rules are infringed then action needs to be taken. Performance is subjective and it is hard to prove or disprove. Letting Sauber get away with this would set the precedent.

That said, I was really disappointed for the drivers and the team. All that hard work and for no points. I have every confidence they will bounce back and be just as good if not better. Perez can still be very proud and at least everyone will remember his first race!